In the United States alone there are over 170 million registered cell phones. With the expiration of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,546 to Fascenda et al., companies are able to now use the cell phone and other mobile communication devices utilizing a multicast network to control television viewers in games of skill based upon predicting, for example, what the quarterback may call on the next play. In addition, games of skill with a common start time can be conducted simultaneously among cell phone owners, based on classic card, dice, trivia, and other games. In order to avoid the anti-gaming laws in the various states, elements of chance must be virtually non-existent in such games and the winners therefore determined by the relative skill, experience and practice of the player in each discrete game. In certain jurisdictions and under certain circumstances, simultaneous games of chance can be conducted using the same technology as games of skill.
Although the ability to play games and enjoy other activities corresponding to current events on cell phones exists, there are a number of issues regarding coordinating the games across a nationwide network. Cellular networks and other networks are only able to handle a limited amount of traffic, so when millions of participants utilize the network at the same time for a regularly scheduled event, there are concerns of the network being overloaded and bogged down to a point where users do not receive necessary data in a timely manner.
Furthermore, cell phones and other computing devices have their own limitations as well. Although cell phone memory is increasing as is typical with technology, cell phones still have a limited amount of memory. Moreover, many users still have somewhat older cell phones that have less memory than current models. In addition to the memory limitations, there are multiple cell phone service providers and a plethora of cell phone models using slightly different protocols. Cell phone users are also sensitive to the time it takes to download the necessary data to play games or enjoy activities.
Servers of the entertainment provider also have limited resources yet must be able to ensure the potentially millions of simultaneous users have the necessary and proper software resident on their cell phones in order to participate in scheduled interactive programs. Again, servers are continuously growing more powerful, quicker and more stable; however there is still potential to overload a server with excessive traffic.
Additionally, other aspects of a nationwide service generate potential issues such as multiple time zones, differing timing and channels of television programs and separate state laws.